


The snap

by bluecalicocat



Category: GOT7
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, But they come back, Death, Emotional Hurt, Established Im Jaebum | JB/Park Jinyoung | Jr., Established Mark Tuan/Jackson Wang, Everyone Needs A Hug, Hurt/Comfort, Infinity War AU, M/M, Multi, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-21 08:43:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19999108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluecalicocat/pseuds/bluecalicocat
Summary: What happened with GOT7 when Thanos snapped his fingers?





	1. the disappearance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is a GOT x Infinity war crossover, except it focuses on GOT7, meaning that u don't have to know anything about marvel to read this because everything explains itself

They were happy.

To be honest, things could not have been going better for them than at that moment. A new album was soon to be released, so they were in the middle of rehearsing everything about a million times, but as a rare blessing, they weren't actually stressed this time, only excited to show off all of their work to the world. Share all these new tracks, new choreographies and new looks.

It was exciting. Tiring, yes, but for once, it wasn't exhausting.

Funny how much of a different just one minute can make.

Jinyoung had been sitting in the backseat of a car, with his head leaning on Jaebum's shoulder, eyes closed and listening to the music that played from his boyfriend's phone. Everything was calm. Maybe they should have known a storm was coming, but at the moment, they didn't know anything.

It was a weird sensation. Jinyoung would never know what it felt like, but for Jaebum, it would become the only thing he ever remembered feeling. 

It wasn't pain. It wasn't even uncomfortable. It was just there, like strings pulling at him until he started coming apart at the very seams. When he lifted his hands to look at them, the sensation inside of him looked to be spreading to the outside.

"Jinyoungie."

The word that left his lips had Jinyoung lift his head from the older's shoulder, looking questioningly at his boyfriend, before his eyes fell on his hands.

It looked like something that would happen in a movie. Not here, not in the real world. Nightmares were supposed to take place during nighttime, not in broad daylight.

Jinyoung felt forced to keep staring at his boyfriend when he faded, because if he looked away, maybe he'd miss the part where all of this stopped happening and someone revealed that it was just a prank gone too far, that this wasn't real.

They both stared at each other, until they no longer could. Fractions of what was once a person fell onto the seat where Jaebum had been sitting only seconds ago, and Jinyoung found himself unable to breathe.

The driver pulled over at the side of the road. Without waiting for the driver to say anything, Jinyoung got out and threw up.

***

A morning with no schedule was always a blessing, especially when they were in the middle of preparing for a comeback.

And when both Jackson and Mark just happened to have a schedule-free morning at the same time, it could be counted as somewhat of a miracle. They couldn't remember the last time this had happened.

As if waking up next to each other wasn't wonderful enough, they now had a whole morning to enjoy the presence of one another.

Jinyoung had left breakfast for them in the fridge, so they didn't even have to bother making anything themselves. The first hour after waking up was spent in a lazy haze of giggling and cuddling together, relishing in the feeling of the air around them, taking comfort in the fact that they had a few hours with nowhere to be.

When they finally decided to get out of bed, Jackson said he had something prepared and told Mark to get dressed while he went and fixed something in the kitchen. Mark only smiled softly and kissed his cheek before they both got up.

Ten minutes later, he stepped out into the kitchen, and the first thing he laid eyes on was a basket standing on the countertop. He looked up at Jackson's smug face.

"We're having a picnic?" he wondered, and Jackson nodded with a wide smile.

"Yeah", he spoke aloud. "I thought we'd go to that park nearby. It's close enough that we don't have to take a car."

"Sounds nice." Mark smiled.

The park, like Jackson said, wasn't that far from the dorms. They only had to walk for a few minutes before arriving at the location, seeing that there weren't many people there at this hour. A couple was seated on a bench near the middle of the park, where there was also a nice fountain, but aside from that, there was almost only the occasional person who was out to walk their dog or something similar.

Jackson led Mark toward a spot on the grass underneath one of the trees. It wasn't too hot out, but it also wasn't chilly, the temperature near perfect.

Honestly, it was as if some higher power had decided that today wasn't going to have any flaws. Maybe it should have felt foreboding in some way, but it didn't. Not there and then.

Jackson let go of his boyfriend's hand to lean down and put the picnic basket down on the ground before turning back around to tell Mark to sit down, reaching an arm out to grab the hand that he had let go of only a second earlier.

Only, when he turned around, there was no one there.

***

Youngjae and Bambam were watching while Yugyeom danced, the youngest being the only one with enough energy to start immediately. It was still pretty early, and the trainers hadn't arrived, so they were free to practice or chill or do whatever they wanted until then.

They sat on the floor in front of the mirror while he danced, watching his sharp movements, captivated by the way he moved. There wasn't a single mistake in what he was doing, from the transitions to the steps to the expression on his face.

Not until he stumbled.

All Youngjae and Bambam could do was watch. At first, it seemed as if Yugyeom had simply lost his balance, but then his whole body went down, and that's when it hit them that something was not right. He landed on the ground in a sitting position with his widened eyes fixed on the pair before him.

Then, he began disappearing, right in front of their eyes.

"Hyungs..?" Yugyeom spoke, voice trembling. The other two had no idea that this was the exact voice that would haunt them for the next couple of years, but they both got to their feet within less than a second.

Bambam jumped forward while Youngjae reached out a hand, trying to grab their youngest, but the dust got to him before Youngjae could. His hand met no resistance in the air. There was no longer anything there for him to grab.

Suddenly, they weren't happy anymore.

***

All the officials had to give the public was a statement on the news, along with a bunch of "it will get better"-bullshit. The Avengers stood behind a podium and spoke to the whole world, telling them about the battle that had been fought and about a guy named Thanos who was apparently the cause of all of this.

Worst of all, they said that the damage that had been done seemed to be irreversible. The segment was barely five minutes long, yet it was meant to explain why half of the planet had been wiped out, but it never could.

It was meant to explain why the bed was empty when Jackson woke up the following morning, why there wasn't a warm body next to his own and a voice in his ear whispering "Good morning", "I love you". It was meant to explain why there was a whole person missing from his life, but it couldn't even begin to explain the hole in his heart.

It was meant to explain why no one was taking charge of their next group meeting, why there was no longer anyone there to lead them. It was meant to explain why they had to have a meeting in the first place, because their future used to be clear. Now, it wasn't, and they had no one to tell them how to deal with it.

It was meant to explain why Jackson Wang was the oldest member of GOT7 and why Bambam was now the maknae. It was meant to explain the empty spots in their formations and the empty seats around their dining table and the silence that filled almost half of their songs now, because the remaining members didn't have the heart to sing the parts of the ones that weren't there.

When Bambam came across a funny meme during a practice break, he turned around with a smile, ready to show it to his best friend, only for the smile to fall once he realized that there was no one there to see it.

Out of habit, Jinyoung set the table for seven people, and it wasn't until he had already finished that it hit him, and he was left staring at the three seats that would not be taken today, that would never be taken ever again.

Happiness had never felt so far away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, this will be in 3 parts: the disappearance, the aftermath, & the resolution


	2. the aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some more angst before things get better

The dorm turned quiet long before it became empty. When only four out of seven members remained after what had been dubbed as "the blip", they didn't have many reasons to make a lot of noise. Everything felt wrong when half of them weren't there. No one bothered making jokes, because they never had enough to be happy about, and they honestly couldn't remember the last time any of them had laughed.

No one changed anything about the missing members' rooms. Their bedroom doors remained closed, and the state the rooms had been left in the morning of their disappearances never changed. Maybe it was because going in there was too painful, a reminder of what life was supposed to be like, a reminder of what life would never be like now.

The way in which they had disappeared never felt final, despite what all the official reports said. No one aside from the Avengers knew exactly what had happened, or why it happened, and that made it so much harder to accept the fact that they were missing.

You couldn't even say that they were dead, because they had never died. They just disappeared.

Jinyoung was the first to announce that he had found his own apartment and that he would be moving out two weeks from now. The others had also been thinking about moving out, to escape the prison of painful memories that was their current home, but never came to a decision as final as this one.

Jinyoung moved out, and once he was gone, the rest passed relatively quickly. Jackson got his own place in the city, and after that, the only people left were Bambam and Youngjae.

Up until now, they had been busy with practices and meetings for the album, because they would still be releasing it despite everything that had changed since it was first created.

Now, it was released, but they wouldn't be doing any promotions. As a matter of fact, they didn't have any plans for their group going forward, because they didn't feel like a group anymore. GOT7 couldn't exist without their leader, their main rapper and their maknae. It would never be the same without them.

Jinyoung focused on his acting career, while Jackson took more time for his solo music and promotions in China.

Meanwhile, Youngjae and Bambam spent their days in a sort of timeless vacuum, living their lives on routine and with no real plans for the future. Something was missing from their lives, and they knew exactly what it was.

Three months after the blip, they sat down opposite each other by the dining table in the dorms. They both knew this place was too big and held too many memories for them to stay here, but the question was how they were going to part from it, because it was so much more than just moving out.

Youngjae was the one who started the conversation.

"Bambam", he said. "I love you."

That much was true, but they both knew there was a lot more to it.

"And I love you", Bambam replied before sighing. "But..."

He wasn't prompting Youngjae to continue speaking. Bambam was simply stating that there was a "but" to all of this, no matter how much they liked to pretend there wasn't.

Youngjae continued.

"But I don't think we can go on, not with the memories of what we once had. It's not that I can't love you without him here, because I still love you just as much as I used to, but I can't go on loving you while also loving someone that isn't here. My heart belongs to the both of you."

And Bambam nodded at that, because he understood exactly. They felt the same. Different, but the same.

The fact that Yugyeom was gone hadn't made him stop loving Youngjae, but he couldn't only be with one person when he loved two.

So, that night, they broke up. Youngjae moved out to live with his brother the following day, and Bambam went to stay with a friend in Ilsan while looking for a place of his own.

There was nothing official about it. GOT7 split with no official statements, slowly fading from the eye of the public without any explanation. It wasn't a disbandment; they simply became inactive.

Not that they really needed one. By this time, everyone of their fans knew which ones of them that had disappeared, and knew exactly how heartbroken the remaining members had to be.

***

Jackson met with Mark's parents exactly once after his boyfriend disappeared. A few weeks after the blip, when he was still living in the dorms, they reached out to him and he agreed to meet with them when they came to South Korea a few days later. Honestly, he didn't want to be reminded of it all, but he felt like he owed it to them to explain what had happened.

They met at a cafe. Jackson didn't get through the story without crying, but they hadn't expected him to, and by the end of it, they were all in tears.

Turns out none of Mark's three siblings had survived the dusting. To be honest, it made Jackson feel slightly guilty, since both of his parents and his brother had all survived, while Mark's parents had to loose every single one of their children. Jackson had lost his niece, which was absolutely devastating, but that was one family member. Mark's parents had lost four.

It was a nightmare, to put it lightly. The streets felt empty in a strange way, no matter how many people were there. It constantly felt like there was something missing, because life had changed for everyone. There was only one question going through everyone's heads: 

When will it get better?

***

Bambam tried his best to keep busy. He also tried his best to keep in contact with the other members, but they didn't see each other very much, even though they kept up with each other through calls and messages. His Thailand visits became a lot more frequent, because the streets of Seoul only held memories of what he had lost.

The first time he went home was also the first time he saw what his own family had turned into. He already knew that his sister and one of his brothers had disappeared, along with his father, but he hadn't expected to find his mother and other brother as much in shatters as he did.

He stayed with them for a week before completely giving up. Sure, everyone was depressed after everything they had lost, but the only two family members he had left were both in a zombie-like state. He couldn't even blame them for it. Grief affected everyone differently, but for Bambam, he felt a lot better when he kept moving, which was the reason why he went back to Korea so soon after arriving.

He didn't blame his family for reacting the way they did, the same way that he couldn't blame any of the dusted ones for disappearing. You couldn't choose what happened to you, and sometimes, you couldn't even choose your reaction to it.

When Bambam returned home, he heard from Jinyoung that Youngjae had met with Yugyeom's parents.

***

Youngjae had told them that they should probably talk to Bambam instead, that the younger had been Yugyeom's best friend a lot longer than he had himself, but they were persistent about doing this quickly and didn't want to wait until Bambam got back.

So, instead of arguing, Youngjae invited them over to his apartment to talk.

He told them a bunch of stories about the band and their son, and never once mentioned what it had been like when their maknae disappeared. After a while, Yugyeom's parents ended up asking about it anyway, and then he told them the story.

And they cried. All three of them, actually. Yugyeom was the only one in his family that had dusted, but that didn't make it any easier on his parents.

Youngjae himself had lost a boyfriend, two of his closest friends, and his mother. In a way, he had also lost the rest of GOT7, but he wasn't allowed to grieve them in the same way since they were technically still here, even if they weren't truly _here_.

After crying over his boyfriend yet another time, in the company of said boyfriend's parents, Youngjae thought that he didn't want anyone else to feel this way if he could help it.

Everyone had lost something, and Youngjae would always wish that things could just go back to the way they were, but there were things that could be done here and now.

After meeting with Yugyeom's parents, Youngjae made the decision to help. It wasn't fair that he had to be here when Yugyeom, Mark and Jaebum weren't, but this time, life had been unfair to everyone.

***

Jinyoung didn't sing, and he didn't dance. All of those passions had disappeared along with Jaebum on that horrible day, and in a way, it felt as if Jinyoung would be betraying his boyfriend-... No, his ex, by continuing with what used to be _their_ dream on his own.

Instead, he put everything into his acting career, and it payed off. To be honest, he probably spent more time on set than he did in his own apartment, even though the place he lived now didn't hold any memories. It's not that he was avoiding his home, but it felt a lot less like a home and more like a place to live, compared to what it had felt like in the dorms.

He'd called his older sister the day of the dusting and found out that both of their parents disappeared, but at least his sisters were still alive.

After Jaebum, he never dated again, instead devoting himself fully to his acting and to the small family he had left. Love no longer had a place in his life, simply because it was something that would always hurt to think about, and he couldn't allow himself to break down over it.

With the unexpected way people disappeared, no one really got any closure, making it even harder to move on than it already was. Maybe that's why they never did.

Jackson kept doing music, Jinyoung acted, Bambam had his clothing business, and Youngjae split his time between doing solo music and doing volunteer work.

They never truly accepted that they had lost family members, friends, and lovers, but as the years passed, it got more and more unlikely that things would ever go back to the way they used to be.

It wasn't until four years later things finally changed for the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i actually wrote a scene for this chapter that i ended up deleting cause it showed the remaining members fighting with each other and that was too angsty even for me


	3. the resolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> final part! no more angst! things get better!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this part is a lot longer than the previous ones but i'd like to believe that it's worth it

It feels as if all he has done is close his eyes before the world comes back into view, blurry at first, but his eyes adjust quickly to the light.

Mark stands, blinking, trying to wrap his mind about what the hell just happened. One minute he was here, the next everything faded to black, and now he's here again. However, it's different now.

The park doesn't look the same as when he left, the first sign being the fact that there's no Jackson standing in front of him, and there's no picnic basket on the ground, where he clearly remembers that it's supposed to be.

When he turns to look around, he sees the same park, but he can remember it being relatively free of people, but now, there are lots of other people here.

Also, the fountain that used to stand in the middle has been replaced by some monument of a black stone. There seems to be inscriptions on it, but Mark is way too far away to even attempt to understand what the inscriptions are about. He has no idea how much time has to have passed if they've had time to replace that fountain, but it has to be a lot more than just a few seconds. Which is weird, because it only felt like he was gone a few seconds.

Mark is looking around, unsure about what to do next, when he notices that there are people screaming just down the street from where the park is. There seem to be things happening all around, and Mark has no idea what's going on. Too confused to try to figure things out, he decides that he should probably return to the dorms.

Yeah, that's the logical thing to do.

The walk is short, and he finds himself by the front door not long after leaving the park, which is when he realizes that he doesn't have any keys. Maybe he had hoped that the walk here would clear his head, but it really hasn't.

Mark looks around, and finds himself surprised at how abandoned the place looks. Something is seriously wrong, because the last thing he recalls is reaching out for Jackson while it felt like his whole body was falling apart, before darkness enveloped him, and now nothing is the same.

All Mark wants is to find someone he knows so that he can ask about what happened, because he's pretty damn lost right now.

***

Jaebum feels concrete underneath himself and immediately opens his eyes, only to almost be blinded by a bright light.

He doesn't even have time to shield himself from it before someone is half-dragging and half-pushing him aside. That, in combination with the loud honking that rings through his head, makes him realize that he'd been sitting in the middle of the road.

Whoever pushes him aside lets go as soon as the car has passed, and Jaebum feels the wind as it drives by. He moves to sit up while rubbing at his scraped shoulder.

It's a man, not much older than himself, that clearly just saved his life. The man only stares down at Jaebum in something close to disbelief, and Jaebum's confusion grows more with every second that passes.

One moment, he was sitting next to Jinyoung in a car and feeling like he was coming apart at the seams, but now he's here, at the side of this road. It doesn't even look like it's the same day.

"Thank you", Jaebum breaths, figuring that he should probably thank the man before bombarding him with questions. The man only gives a small nod in response, his mouth still slightly open in shock. "Uh, excuse me, but what's going on? What happened to me? And where's Jinyoung?"

The man seems to consider his questions seriously, maybe because he's not sure how to answer them.

"I have no idea who that is, but I have a guess about what happened to you." Jaebum waits anxiously for what he has to say. "Well, there's not really a simple way to put this, but you got dusted. It has to do with the Avengers and this villain, and basically, he made half of all life turn to dust."

It's by no means easy to understand, but at least things begin to make a little more sense.

Still, even with sort of knowing what's happened, there's another question burning at the top of his mind.

"When?" he asks, and the man looks at him questioningly. "When did this dusting happen?"

The man lets out a slow sigh before rubbing at his eyes.

"The dusting", he starts, "was four years ago."

***

Yugyeom probably scares the trainees to death when he appears back in the dance studio. They all scream when the boy suddenly shows up on the floor in front of the mirror, jumping back from him when they watch what looks like a reverse dusting happen right before their eyes.

Despite his own confusion, Yugyeom stands up and excuses himself to get out of there quickly, his mind spinning with thoughts about what just happened. The scared trainees stare after him when he hurries out the door, ready to run out of here and find out what happened.

The last thing he remembers is disappearing. There's not really any other way to describe what happened to him, but now it seems like whatever happened has been reversed, because he's obviously here now.

Yugyeom tries his best not to think as he takes the stairs down to the entrance floor, not sure where he is going, but sure that he doesn't want to stay here.

He needs to find his hyungs. He needs to find Youngjae and Bambam and have them tell him what happened after he disappeared.

They live in the age of superheroes, so the fact that this happened isn't too surprising to him, but what exactly it was that happened isn't clear yet. How and why it happened are also some things he wants to know, but mainly the what.

What happened to him?

***

Bambam is aware of the fact that he lives in an apartment that used to belong to someone who dusted in the snap, but the thing about that is that he didn't expect them to get back. Like, not ever. That's why he screams like a freaking chicken upon seeing a random girl appear out of nowhere in what's supposed to be _his_ kitchen.

She seems just as scared as him, but maybe it's just because of the loud noise he makes. Anyway. Bambam sees her appear, and all he can say is that it looks like a reverse dusting, which in his mind can only mean one thing: The dusting has been reversed.

Which leads to his next point: His members must be back, which creates the problem that he's not in the same place as where Yugyeom disappeared from.

The girl is still staring at him, and Bambam can't really think clearly with all of the thoughts that spin around his mind.

"Uh, I think I moved into your house", he says instead, as if that explains anything. "And I have to leave now. Oh, also, I adopted four cats after the blip so don't be scared if you see them around here somewhere."

And with that, he turns and hurries out the door, almost forgetting his phone but grabbing it right before stepping out.

As he runs down the stairs towards the garage, he finds himself scrolling through his contacts, trying to find Youngjae's name. Before even considering what he's going to say, he's pressed the call button and lifts the phone to his ear.

Youngjae picks up after the first signal.

"They're back", the older says, sounding almost out of breath.

"The dusting", Bambam speaks, making just as little sense as the other boy is. "This girl just appeared in my kitchen, and I think everyone else is coming back, too."

"I was just thinking the same thing."

"I'm going to the company. People probably get back to the place where they disappeared..."

"Can you pick me up? I'm near the convenience store we used to go to."

Bambam agrees before hanging up, as he's reached the garage and needs both his hands free to get into his car. He doesn't take the time to think about anything except for his goal at this moment, which is to find Yugyeom. Well, the first part of that is to find Youngjae, but that sounds like the easy part.

He prays he's not getting his hopes up for nothing.

***

Jackson is sitting on his couch, trying to figure out how to go about this section of the new song he's working on, a section that is proving to be a lot trickier than he originally thought.

He taps his pen irritably against the notebook he has on his lap and glances up at the TV screen on the wall in front of the couch, just to see that he show he'd put on in the background while he worked has been replaced by news.

Jackson furrows his brows and reaches for the remote to turn the volume up, wondering what this is about.

Then, the headline catches his attention, and he finds his hand stilling as he reads.

_Dusted people returning - all around the globe_

Dusted people. People that dusted in the blip. People like his niece, people like Mark.

"The people we lost four years ago are now appearing in what seems to be the blip reversed. We ask of you to take extra caution, as everyone seems to be showing up in the same place they disappeared from, meaning that there are people appearing on train tracks and highways..."

Jackson is up on his feet before the woman has finished her sentence, with only one place in his mind as he heads for the front door. He has to get there quickly, because he doubts Mark will stay put once he realizes that he's alone.

There's a huge feeling of doubt that takes up a lot of space in Jackson's mind, because this sounds too good to be true, and there's always this voice in his head telling him that maybe this isn't for real, or maybe it's a mistake...

But he doesn't allow himself to waste any time listening to that voice. Instead, Jackson practically runs out the door, thinking that he can probably get to the park within ten minutes if he hurries.

The streets outside are busier than they've ever been, and it's a lot louder than Jackson can remember it being these past four years.

It's a bit harder to move through these crowds, but he makes it work.

He reaches the park completely breathless, not hesitating even once before he starts jogging toward the part of the park where he brought Mark all those years ago. If it hadn't held that much meaning to him, maybe he wouldn't have remember exactly where they were, but as it is now, he can point out the exact tree under which they were about to sit.

Only, when he gets there, there's no one there. Not Mark and not anybody else, either.

He's panting, and there's still doubt in his mind, but the most likely option is that Mark has left. Only question is, where would he go?

He wouldn't try to go somewhere too far from here, and there's no risk of him trying to go to one of their apartments, since they were still living in the dorms when he disappeared...

The dorms. Obviously. That has to be it, the first place he'd go to.

Jackson turns on the spot and gets back to running. While he's running, moving past the crowds of people out on the street, he thinks that if Mark isn't there when he arrives, he might just cry.

Okay, he'll definitely cry if Mark isn't there, but let the man pretend.

Their old dorm building comes into view after turning around a corner, and at first, it looks just like he remembers it, except a little more empty, even from the outside. He can't see anyone near the front door.

Until he looks away from the house, and instead turns his eyes to the road right in front of it.

On the ground right in front of the path leading up to the building, a man sits on the concrete ground, seemingly not very bothered by the people passing him by, but looking like's waiting for something. Or someone.

After not seeing Mark for four years, Jackson has no idea how to react, so he allows his emotions take control. Essentially, what that means is that he rushes toward the boy, toward his boyfriend, as fast as he possibly can.

When the other sees him approaching, he stands up quickly and is almost knocked off his feet when Jackson throws his arms around him in a hug.

They've both always been comforted by each other's presence, and this time, it works even better than usual. There's still a long way to go to find a new normal, but right now, just having one another is enough.

Actually, it's a lot more than just enough. It's absolutely perfect.

***

Jinyoung finds out through a phonecall from his sister. The first thing he thinks about is his parents, since that's pretty much all his sister manages to say through her tears. They're fine. They're okay.

As soon as they hang up, however, it hits him that Jaebum must have gotten back, too, only he's probably in the middle of that random road where he disappeared from.

Out of all the times his car could possibly be in for repairing, it just has to be now.

Someone needs to go pick up Jaebum, and considering only two people know exactly where JB got dusted, that leaves it up to Jinyoung, since he doubts the driver that was with them will think much about that when he probably has his own family members coming back today.

Jinyoung can't think of a single person that could possibly be free now that the dusted ones are returning, so he settles for the second best thing and calls Jackson, despite knowing that he's probably out looking for Mark right now.

He doesn't pick up when Jinyoung calls, so the man attempts to call Bambam, who doesn't answer either.

Anxiety starts getting to him as he clicks on the last contact he can imagine being close enough to help him right now.

Luckily, Youngjae picks up after only a few signals.

"Hey!" He sounds a lot happier than last time they spoke.

"Hi, Youngjae", Jinyoung begins. "Uh, I don't have a car right now..."

"You need us to pick you up?" Youngjae interrupts before he can finish speaking. "I just got in the car with Bambam, we're going to the company. We can pick you up right now."

Jinyoung agrees to that.

***

Bambam is prepared to throw the car door open and rush into the company building the second they turn onto the street where it's located, but he never gets further than hitting the brake before he lays eyes on a figure that he hasn't seen in four years.

Youngjae opens the passenger door before the car has even stopped completely, having already taken off his seatbelt to be able to get out as fast as possible.

"Yugyeom!" he yells, and the tall boy further down the streets turns around. His whole face lights up when he spots the person shouting his name, and he hurriedly starts walking in the direction of the now still-standing car.

Behind Youngjae, Bambam has just gotten out of the vehicle, and both of them are running toward their maknae.

They pretty much throw themselves at the taller boy, but it's okay because he does the same to them, and the trio meets in a hug, all of them close to tears.

Jinyoung stands back and lets them have their reunion, not stepping forward until the group is moving back slightly from the hug. He can hear them mumbling against each other, and all three of them are smiling. Then, Yugyeom turns his head a little to the side and notices the man waiting behind the others, instantly letting go of his two boyfriends to run over to Jinyoung.

"Hyung", he exclaims softly before engulfing the other in a hug. At first, Jinyoung is shocked at feeling those arms around him for the first time in years, but a second later, he gladly hugs him back.

The last four years have passed in slow-motion, but now that Jinyoung sees his members returning, time seems to stop, but this time in a good way.

"Yugyeom", Youngjae says softly, not like he's trying to catch the younger's attention, but like he's trying to get used to the sound of that name. It's almost like saying it again for the first time.

Yugyeom pulls back from Jinyoung, his smile never wavering, and turns back to the other two.

"I talked to someone on the street", he tells them. "And she told me what happened. I'm sorry."

"You're-..." Bambam begins, furrowing his brows, before the realization hits him and he hurries to speak again. "No, no, no, don't be sorry, there's nothing to be sorry for!"

Yugyeom doesn't look convinced in the slightest, but Youngjae continues where the other boy left off.

"He's right, Gyeom", Youngjae says with a gentle smile toward the younger. "Sure, seeing you disappear broke our hearts and these years without you have been a mess, but there's nothing for you to be sorry about. You couldn't have done anything about it."

"We're just happy you're back. So fucking happy", Bambam finishes for the both of them. Yugyeom still seems to feel bad about hurting them in any way, intentional or not, but at least he doesn't move away when his boyfriends go in for another hug.

Jinyoung watches the exchange with a soft smile on his lips. Internally, he's still worrying about his own boyfriend, but he tries not to make it too obvious.

The vibration of his phone interrupts any worrying thoughts he's having, so Jinyoung pulls it out of his pocket to see what's going on.

A text from Jackson, saying _Pick us up at the dorms_. Nothing else.

Jinyoung looks up from the screen to find three pairs of eyes waiting for him to tell them what that's about. The oldest makes a grimace.

"So, it seems we have another stop to make before we can pick up Jaebum."

***

Bambam won't let go of his newly returned boyfriend, so Jinyoung takes the seat where Bambam used to sit and drives the car while the three youngest all huddle together in the backseat with Yugyeom in the middle.

His mind keeps returning to that one road, because ever since the blip, that road has become a symbol for everything awful in the world, at least in Jinyoung's mind. He really wishes he didn't have to return there to get his boyfriend back. At least he doesn't have to think about that until after they've stopped at the dorms.

It doesn't take long to get there. None of them have been at the dorms since the group moved out, but it still feels like it was only yesterday that Jinyoung was last here. After all, they spent a lot of time in this building before the blip happened. It used to be their home.

Jinyoung keeps looking at the people on the street as he drives toward their old dorms, hoping to get a glimpse of someone he recognizes, but he doesn't spot anyone until the car is right outside the building.

Unsurprisingly, he sees Jackson outside the dorms, but Jinyoung has to do a double take when he sees the boy standing next to the rapper.

Mark doesn't look different at all, but then again, neither does Yugyeom. Jinyoung wonders briefly if this will affect what honorifics they use for each other, since it means your birth year and age won't match, but it's a complicated question that he doesn't dwell on.

Instead, he parks the car at the side of the road before turning off the engine, smiling out at the pair through the window. He can hear that the maknae line is already on their way out the car, and Jinyoung isn't slow to follow them out.

Only, when he gets out, he sees something he hadn't noticed at first. Or, more like _someone_.

Jaebum steps out from behind Mark and Jackson with a shy smile, and it takes all of Jinyoung's willpower to not just jump at him right there. Instead, Jinyoung tries to control his steps as he walks closer to his boyfriend, probably (definitely) staring at the face he hasn't seen since so long ago.

Without thinking much about it, Jinyoung reaches out a hand and places it on Jaebum's cheek, still with his lips slightly parted as he keeps staring. To others, it must seem like he's trying to memorize every detail of Jaebum's face with the way he's staring, and they're not really far off in believing that.

After a few more moments, Jaebum can't take the loaded atmosphere between them and puts a hand around Jinyoung's neck, gently pulling their faces closer, until Jinyoung finally closes his eyes and their lips meet.

***

Mark doesn't know if it's a conscious thing or not, but ever since he came back a few days ago, Jackson has been touching him a lot more. Not in a noticeable way. Just handholding, or putting his arm around Mark, or even something as simple as holding onto the older's sleeve so gently that it's almost unnoticeable.

It's different from how they used to be, but it's nice. Grounding. Mark still sometimes feel like he's going to start falling apart again, break into small pieces until there's nothing left of him, and every time he lets go of Jackson it feels like when they let go of each other's hands in the park all those years ago, but they're working on getting over it. All of them are.

The setting sun paints the sky a million beautiful colors, and Mark leans his head on Jackson's shoulder, both of them watching as the world changes shade. It's a bit chilly up on the rooftop, but Youngjae has brought blankets for all of them so they don't have to freeze.

Well, half the blankets are laying abandoned in a pile behind them, since every couple has decided to share instead of having their own, but that works just as well.

Mark can hear Jinyoung and Jaebum speaking to each other in low voices from where the pair is sitting a bit closer to the edge of the rooftop, but he doesn't bother trying to make out what they're saying. All seven of them are together up here, even though it feels like they're all having a private moment. It's ironic, because their group isn't exactly known for being good at giving the others privacy.

Youngjae, Yugyeom and Bambam are sitting on a pile of pillows in the middle of the rooftop's concrete ground, too busy talking among each other to give much attention to the pretty sight in front of them.

Jackson moves to put his arm around Mark, bringing them even closer to each other, and Mark's attention returns to the person next to him.

"Are you cold?" he asks, turning his face toward his boyfriend with a concerned glance. "You're kind of cold."

Mark gives the other boy a soft smile.

"I'm fine", he tells him. When his boyfriend doesn't look convinced, Mark continues. "I promise I'll tell you when I'm not fine, and I'm kinda counting on you to be there when I do."

Jackson chuckles.

"Well, duh. Of course I'll be there. But only if you promise you'll do the same for me."

He barely lets Jackson finish his sentence before replying.

"I promise."

Mark snuggles closer to his boyfriend, and in that moment, happiness is almost tangible in the air around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in case you're wondering, jb got a lift from the man that saved his life, which is how he got from that road to their dorms :)
> 
> thanks for reading and leaving kudos <3


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